Who was Veer Savarkar?

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar popularly known as Veer Savarkar was an author, social activist and a freedom fighter. What a lesser known fact is that the pretext of ‘Veer’ bestowed on Savarkar by himself in a book written by Chitragupta (his pen name). 

Savarkar was born to a family of revolutionaries and hence patriotism and the feeling to free India was something which was in his blood. He completed his early education from the place he was born that is a village near Nasik. He then came to a much renowned college that is Fergusson College to complete his course in Bachelors of Arts. It is in this very college, when for the first time Savarkar felt the itch to participate in the freedom struggle. 

The very first movement in which he participated was the Swadeshi Movement in 1907 as a result of which he was expelled from the college. He then laid the foundation stone of his organization ‘Abhinav Bharat’ which recruited people who had the same feeling of nationalism like Savarkar did. After he was expelled from his college he went to England to pursue law with the help of an economic aid given by Shyamji Krishna Varma. There he wrote the very first book of his life, which inspired millions to participate in the freedom struggle, ‘The First War of Independence of 1857’. He got this book printed in 1909 with the aim of removing the word mutiny and replacing it by revolt.  As we all know, the Britain, then had very strict publication guidelines and monitored every piece of literature which was published. Savarkar had sent this book to three people of which one person was Bhicaji Cama in France. In order to get this book published what she did is that she changed the cover page of the book and kept the first few pages blank in order to get away with censorship, in which she was successful. Hence the very first book written by Savarkar was published and circulated throughout the country and was instrumental in motivating the youth to take part in the freedom struggle. 

In 1904, Madan Lal Dhingra, member of the Abhinav Bharat organisation (formed by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar) shot Commissioner Jackson in a meeting. This led to a widespread arrest of people including Savarkar who was arrested because the gun with which Jackson was shot was sent by Savarkar and hence he was arrested for abettment and  sentenced to life imprisonment for fifty years in the cellular jail of Andaman and Nicobar Islands popularly known as ‘Kala paani’. While Savarkar was lodged into the cellular jail he wrote a poem on the walls of the jail known as ‘Veer Ras’ with his nail. 

While in prison, Savarkar wrote three mercy petitions and was finally released in 1921 after signing a plea for clemency. After serving for the British interests till 1937, He became the president of Political wing of the Hindu Mahasabha and started rallying throughout the country. He was a fierce critic of the Indian National Congress and supported the Hindutva model and ideology. 

In 1948, Veer Savarkar was charged with the murder of Mahatma Gandhi and was later acquitted because of lack of evidence and this wall also the reason why no appeal was made to a higher court by Jawaharlal Nehru. On 1^st February 1966, Savarkar renounced his medicines, food and water and termed it as ‘atmaarpan’ thereby declaring fast until death. He died on 26^th February 1966 at his residence in the then Bombay.